It would be short sighted of any self-respecting student of late ’70s rock to miss the irony of ‘London Calling‘ by The Clash and the self-titled debut album of Christopher Cross both appearing in December 1979.
Indeed, with regard to release date they are separated only by a matter of five days, yet it terms of content light years apart.
With their third album The Clash, across a double set of remarkable melodic invention and often breathtaking lyrical originality, affirmed their status as the most vital and compelling rock band on the planet. Due to being released in the United States early the following year, Rolling Stone magazine would later name ‘London Calling‘ as ‘the greatest rock album of the 1980s‘ – an assessment that brooks no argument from your genial host here at SAMTIMONIOUS.com.
Aside from the closeness of when they appeared there is nothing else that connects these two vastly different albums. While The Clash explore a wide array of themes in their lyrics, set to music that embraces rock, reggae, rockabilly, ska and some of the earliest heard examples of dub, 28 year-old Cross (born Christopher Charles Geppert, San Antonio, Texas, 3/5/1951), offered up a brand of slick, jazz flavoured soft-rock that was ideal for the lightweight lyricism.
Yet for all the platitudes and weighty critical appraisals bestowed upon ‘London Calling‘ it was outsold by the record that brought Cross to sudden prominence by roughly eight copies to one – ‘CHRISTOPHER CROSS‘ not only one of the highest selling debut albums of all-time, but unparalleled in its achievement of winning four Grammy awards.
It duly became a foremost example of the right-moment, right-place LP, in effect becoming a ‘Tapestry‘ of the time. Yet it generated nothing in the way of praise that went the way of Carole King for her 1971 masterpiece.
In truth, ‘Christopher Cross‘ was one of those rare albums, rarer still in a first offering, that succeeded in spite of widespread music press negativity, each disparaging review seemingly pushing up sales by another million copies.
In drawing upon obvious influences such as Fleetwood Mac, Crosby, Stills & Nash and especially Stephen Stills, whose career downturn coincided with his fellow Texan coming to the fore, Cross, an accomplished guitarist and passable vocalist, spent much of his time fending off accusations of being a poor mans Steely Dan. The comparison was prompted due to producer Michael Omartian being a keyboard presence on their ‘Pretzel Logic‘, ‘Katy Lied‘ and ‘Aja‘ albums, alongside the fact Cross once turned down an offer to join the touring band of Dan head honchos Donald Fagen and Walter Becker.
True, there are some tenuous similarities with the polished, steely sound of the most fascinating American rock band of the ’70s, but whereas Steely Dan records were often an exercise in spotting wry humour and sly irony, ‘Christopher Cross‘ presents the listener with no such challenge, the lyrics offering precious little in the way of depth or detail.
Yet dismissing the LP as a phenomenal fluke would be to overlook the impact it made not just in relation to massive sales, but in sonic quality. The smooth, layered arrangements and pristine production precipitated a trend that would be dubbed ‘yacht rock‘ – this particular form of power pop epitomised by acts like Toto and Kenny Loggins in the wake of ‘Christopher Cross‘ being so successful.
The all-encompassing term used to describe the purveyors of such music no doubt had its origins in the Cross song ‘Sailing‘ that brought the artist a number one single and Grammy award – this for a track which in nautical terms was ocean wide but an inch deep.
Opening cut ‘Say You’ll Be Mine‘ has wave after wave of Fleetwood Mac overtones, this charming uptempo song smoothed further by the harmonies of silver-tongued songstress Nicolette Larson, the first in a dazzling array of high-profile backing vocalists to make an appearance. The male/female vocal blend gives it obvious big Mac flavour, familiarity with Buckingham, Nicks and co taking another twist when Christine McVie wrote several songs in similar vein for the next couple of Fleetwood Mac albums.
The next big name to appear in the role of support singer is Doobie Brother Michael McDonald, who brings his distinctive tones to ‘I Really Don’t Know Anymore.’
Core rhythm section of Andy Salmon (bass) and drummer Tommy Taylor (with whom Cross had played in a band named Flash, who attracted some record company interest before Warner Bros signed their guitar player/leader as a solo artist), make their mark on this pleasant if insubstantial number that reflects on the vagaries of romance (‘What do you think about love/Is it a game to be played/To keep your heart and have never loved/To be lost/And lonely after all‘).
One of two tracks to feature renowned guitarist Larry Carlton, (who like Omartian had served time with Steely Dan), his electric guitar solo is sharp and dominant, yet the guitars disappear altogether on ‘Spinning‘, top notch session singer Valerie Carter taking lead vocal on a couple of lines in a song containing only eight. At these moments it comes over like Barbara Streisand tackling a throwaway Bert Bacharach composition, this inconsequential effort padded out to almost four minutes by busy keyboard work from Rob Meurer and flugel horn of Chuck Findley.
There is no gravity either in the words of ‘Never Be the Same‘, Cross going from love struck in the album opener to a lovelorn figure here. It is, however, another solid ensemble performance, going straight to the heart of those who like their pop balladry delivered with a touch of restraint, evident in its rise to number fifteen on the U.S. singles chart.
The only track not to feature musicianship from Omartian, side one closer ‘Poor Shirley‘ is the tale of a woman gripped by loneliness, (‘Poor Shirley/She must hide her tears/For nobody wants to see them/
Surely it will break her heart/Time passes as she waits for a friend‘), the swirling strings giving a sense of drama to a song containing a couple of vague verses – the impending launch of ‘yacht rock‘ sourced again in a lines such as, ‘Stars will light up the lonely nights/Harbor lights.’
Side two opener ‘Ride Like the Wind‘ has likeable bluster, Cross penning the fast-paced story of an outlaw desperate to stay one step ahead of his pursuers, (‘And I’ve got such a long way to go/To make it to the border of Mexico/So I’ll ride like the wind‘).
Dedicated to Lowell George, slide guitar maestro and songwriting genius of Little Feat who had died of a drug overdose at the age of 34 in June 1979, the most resonant lyrics and rousing performance on the album, (bolstered again by the vocal presence of McDonald), make it a fitting tribute:
‘Accused and tried and told to hang/I was nowhere in sight when the church bells rang/Never was the kind to do as I was told/Gonna ride like the wind before I get old.’
Through the ’70s Little Feat had made a series of superb if somewhat eclectic albums that failed to make the commercial impact they deserved, the old adage of timing is everything never better endorsed than when ‘Ride Like the Wind‘ brought Cross another high placing (2) on U.S. singles listings.
Enlisted for star background vocal turns on ‘The Light is On‘ are J.D. Souther and Eagles drummer/vocalist Don Henley.
Reminiscent of various Stills contributions to the CSN reunion album of two years before, the relaxed, well-crafted performance, livened by another pristine Carlton guitar solo, masks a sparse two verse, catchy-chorus lyric that does not bear much scrutiny, Cross offering a simplistic analogy of darkness turning to light and vice-versa.
When his record began to attract widespread interest, Cross told the L.A. Times, ‘I’m just trying to give people of a certain age group a little enjoyment and relaxation. I’m a very non-political, non-intellectual lyricist.’
This self analysis was indeed applicable to ‘The Light is On‘ and on a slightly lesser level to ‘Sailing‘ – the protagonist taking to his yacht, obviously, in escaping the travails of a troubled world. Such issues were left for the likes of Neil Young and Joe Strummer of The Clash to deal with, he and Cross incidentally born within fifteen months of each other.
On the distant horizon is where peace of mind can be found, a warm breeze, gently nudging the sails evoked in a melodramatic arrangement that borders on schmaltzy:
‘Well, it’s not far down to paradise/At least it’s not for me/And if the wind is right you can sail away/
And find tranquility.’
Had it been a Warren Zevon song, on setting sail the main character is likely to have fallen prey to pirates and taken against his wishes to a Caribbean island in the throes of an uprising, Jackson Browne on the other hand remaining on land to write lyrics protesting on behalf of those who cannot take refuge on the ocean. Cross is single-minded in his desire to escape (‘Fantasy/It gets the best of me/When I’m sailing/All caught up in the reverie‘), although judging by the way ‘Sailing‘ went on to top the charts, many harbored (sorry), the same ambition.
Closing cut ‘Minstrel Gigolo‘ has Cross depicting the effect a handsome singer-songwriter (Souther an obvious candidate) has on the females among his audience, ‘All the young and lonely girls wait for you/There by the backstage door/And they’re hoping to/Be the one‘. His rather shallow observations are presented on top of piano-based Elton John styled funk, the piece decorated with a searing Eric Johnson guitar solo and airy saxophone work by Tomas Ramirez.
Cross ends the record in his now established manner of oft-repeated verses that along with extended instrumental passages spin out decidedly modest material – this example clocking in at six minutes.
Not that such issues were to the detriment of impressive business in the market place. Those liking their rock presented in slick, unchallenging manner took ‘Christopher Cross‘ to their hearts in 1980 when it enjoyed a lengthy stay in the U.S top ten. Twelve months later the Grammy judges were also smitten as they bestowed ‘Best Album‘, ‘Best Song‘ (‘Sailing‘) ‘Best Arrangement‘ (‘Sailing‘) and ‘Best New Artist‘ awards upon Cross and his music, the biggest haul ever by a previously unknown artist.
It was all somehow hard to fathom (no ‘yacht rock‘ pun intended), a pedestrian, yet Grammy-laden album had become the first major success of the post-punk, post-disco era. For Cross, however, his towering wave of initial success had still not broken. In 1981 the saccharine ‘Arthur’s Theme‘ (Best That You Can Do) from the movie soundtrack of ‘Arthur’, earned him a second U.S. number one single, an Oscar for Best Original Song (this a Cross co-write with Bert Bacharach, Peter Allen and Carole Bayer Sager) and another Grammy Award nomination.
There was a three year wait for a follow-up to his extraordinarily successful debut. ‘Another Page‘ (1983) reaped the same wind of critical disapproval and while it briefly found a top ten berth in both the U.S and U.K. album charts quickly disappeared from view, his albums barely creating a murmur thereafter.
All of which added to the mystery in remembering just how much attention ‘Christopher Cross‘ had received – acclaim for being a foundation stone of ‘yacht rock‘ the most back-handed of compliments given this genre was so bereft of passion.
Back in December 1979 the only body of water with meaningful rock connotations was the river running through the capital of England, ‘The ice age is coming, the sun’s zooming in/Meltdown expected, the wheat is growing thin/Engines stop running but I have no fear/’Cause London is drowning and I live by the river.’
Thankfully nobody ever labelled The Clash ‘river rock‘……………
CHRISTOPHER CROSS (Released December 20 1979):
Say You’ll be Mine/I Really Don’t Know Anymore/Spinning/Never Be the Same/Poor Shirley/Ride Like the Wind/The Light is On/Sailing/Minstrel Gigolo;
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NEIL SAMBROOK is the author of MONTY’S DOUBLE – an acclaimed thriller now available in paperback and as an Amazon Kindle book.
